Is Freedom over the Fence
by MistyEyedRaven
Summary: A war is raging and after losing his mother in an enemy raid, Yu is captured and confined in a concentration camp...doomed to a life of slavery. MikaxYu. Rated M to be safe.(This story is not based on any historical events or facts.)
1. Chapter 1

The sky was gray with swollen clouds that threatened to rain. The ground was hard and cold, rubble and rocks crunching under many pairs of feet. Feet that belonged to frightened civilians, victims of the war. The war that was raging as they walked.

A small boy was visible among the crowd of people, as well as a few other children that had suffered from the effects of war. The boy's name was Yu and he had lost his mother in an enemy raid two weeks ago. The VAMP Empire had attacked a small town to replenish their food and weapons. The residents who didn't quietly surrender were killed and the ones who did, were taken as prisoners.

Yu knew what would happen and where he was going when he had been captured. Everyone knew.

The group reached a heavy iron gate that had to be cranked open by an enemy soldier. Once the gate was three quarters of the way, they were shuffled inside and their freedom they had known vanished as the gate slammed back into place behind them. Concentration camp. This would be Yu's home now. Everything to the cement walls, the barb wire fences, the lookout towers, the fortified buildings, the piles of debris and every rock and stick in sight was his home.

The Lieutenant that had lead the raid and escorted the group to the camp came forward and yelled in a loud voice, "I want two groups, men on the right and women and children on the left! Boys twelve years or older join the men!"

Everyone did as the Lieutenant instructed and separated into two.

"On behalf of the VAMP Empire, we have generously spared your lives and have brought you to one of our most fortified and safest camp sites. In return for our protection and leniency, you all are expected to assist our military." The Lieutenant continued talking while he paced back and forth in front of the two groups. "Make no mistake, we do not care for your lives and we will end them if you do not obey the rules. Your only purpose in life now, is to serve the VAMP Empire from this facility." He stopped pacing and gave a long pause. "Is that understood?"

No one answered. They stood quietly in fear, not daring to say anything.

"Good. Soldiers will escort you to the buildings you will be sleeping in. Tomorrow, we will assign you work." He then gestured to the soldiers and walked off towards a building with small windows.

Yu was 10 years of age and accompanied the women and children to one of the run down looking structures they would be spending their nights in from now on. It was dark inside the concrete building and smelled of mold. The floors were creaky and dirt was scattered all around. He lifted the collar of his shirt over his nose to filter the musty air but, it proved useless as his eyes watered from the oder. The only source of light, that wasn't coming from the door he had come in from, were a few dim overhead light bulbs. He inspected the bunks beds that were crammed up against the walls. They were hard as a plank of wood and adorned with a thin sheet for a blanket. After the last of the prisoners were inside, the soldier closed the door from the outside. There were sounds of a few clicks and then fading footsteps. Locked in. With no way out and nothing to do, Yu climbed into one of the low beds and curled up in the sheet. Some kids were crying and some were stupidly unaware of the situation they were in. Mothers hugged their children and whispered calming words into their ears, promising them everything was going to be fine. Lies. Everything wasn't fine. Anything but fine. Yu envied the ignorance of the other children and the words of comfort from their parent. He pulled the thin cover over his head and felt his eyes sting with grief. Grief for his mother that had been brutally killed by the Empire in front of his eyes. As he remembered the last moments of her, he could not hold back his tears. He let them escape and drip over his nose, making no sound. Quietly drifting off to sleep in sorrow.

Yu awoke from his sleep, shivering under his covers. The rock-hard bed and blanket hadn't trapped in any of his body heat during the night. This is absolutely dreadful. If Mother was here with me, we would have slept together to keep warm. He felt a pang of sadness in his chest as he thought of her. To keep from crying again, Yu thought it would be best to explore the building further to distract himself. He lifted his sheet off and was met by the sting of the cold air. It was tempting to scrunch back up into the covers. Actually, it was very tempting. He debated whether to get up or stay down for a few seconds but, decided to brave the cold.

Once he was out of bed, he took a look around himself. Most of the others were still asleep, except for a few kids that were goofing around on the top bunks. Yu walked over to the door he had entered through yesterday. Knowing it was probably locked, he tried pulling open the door. No use. It was still tightly shut. He moved along the walls that weren't occupied by beds. The walls were cold to the touch and there seemed to be a draft coming in from somewhere. He continued to the other side of the room and found a couple more doors. These doors were wooden, unlike the locked one. They looked old and rotted. Although the smell of the rotten wood and who-knows-what disgusted Yu, his curiosity was too great to let that stop him from attempting to open them. The first three he tried were stuck shut. The fourth one's handle broke off as he pulled it. He was a little disappointed at the lack of adventure this was turning out to be and tried to place the knob back in the hole it left. It wasn't fitting so, he leaned his head to the hole and peered through it. Inside, it looked like a closet with some boxes and garbage littering the floor. Dust had settled on every surface and not to mention, it stunk. He adjusted his position to get a better angle. Being able to see more to the right, Yu saw an opening in the wall blocked by a smaller box and some rotten wood. So that's where the draft was coming from. It's leaking in from that hole. Yu couldn't help but smile to himself for solving that mystery. After his moment of victory, he pulled and pushed at the door but not to his surprise, it didn't budge. Feeling somewhat satisfied with his efforts, he set the disconnected door knob down and made his way back over to the beds.

The noise he had been making woke some other people up but, he decided not to feel bad about it. He felt more comfortable with the grown-ups now awake. But not for long. The locks on the door started to click and a few soldiers, as well as the Lieutenant from yesterday, entered the building.

"I trust you all slept soundly and comfortably." The Lieutenant said as he entered. He glanced at the beds with a hard expression. "The fact that some of you are still ASLEEP proves I'm right!"

The sound of his powerful voice echoed through the room, startling awake the few that were still resting. He glared at each of them before speaking again.

"The Captain has approved of these rules and regulations I am about to read to you. Listen well." He lifted his clipboard and papers to his face and cleared his throat. "You must obey all VAMP Empire soldiers and officers without question or hesitation, you are to carry out all duties assigned to you without any complaints, never talk to a soldier or officer unless spoken to or commanded to do so, your meals will be provided at certain times and you will not be allowed to eat at any other time of day, any form of violence from any of you is not tolerated, keep your head down when in the presence of a soldier or officer unless you are told otherwise, raising your voice to a soldier or officer is not tolerated, touching a soldier or officer is not tolerated, you will be escorted to and from your place of rest by soldiers with no exceptions, any attempt at escape is also not tolerated. These next set of rules are in relation to children. Girls at the age of twelve or older are expected to work with the women, children under that age are to stay in the building at all times, boys will be placed with the men after turning twelve years old with no exceptions. Do I make myself clear?"

The room went completely silent. Silence was the only answer anyone dared to give. The Lieutenant looked over the terrified faces of the women and children, pleased by their fearful obedience.

"Good. All women and girls over eleven, come. Your first assignment will be tending to the laundry."

The few soldiers he brought along ushered the women out of the building to begin their work. The Lieutenant stayed behind with one other soldier and took the piece of paper, containing the regulations, from his clipboard and began nailing it to the door.

The soldier spoke in a hushed tone, "Lieutenant Vilhelm, sir. Is it even worth keeping a bunch of useless brats here? It really is a waste to feed them when they don't provide anything."

Vilhelm turned his attention to the soldier. "As much as I would like to be rid of them myself, once they reach the age of twelve, we will have more hands to put to work. That is all."

They both looked at the still frightened children and snickered to themselves. They were right. The only reason Yu and the others had been kept alive was that very reason. They would compensate for the food with their own lives.


	2. Chapter 2

A month passed and Yu had already gotten accustomed to life in the camp. He and a few other girls took on the task of looking after the younger children while the adults went to work. Honestly, he didn't like the idea of taking care of snotty, sheltered brats that didn't have a clue where they were. He tolerated it for the sake of his mother. Yu knew she would want him to be a part of this "family" that was forming so, he did the best he could to keep them in shape and out of trouble.

In the mornings, Yu and an eleven-year-old girl named Ada, would wake up early with the other women and follow them to a small shack where their food was served. They would both eat their breakfast with the adults and bring back portions for the smaller children. They would do this twice a day, in the morning and evening. That was the only time he was allowed to be outside. To eat and bring back food. He always looked forward to these times, to breath the fresh chilly air and to see the sky above him. He wished he could stay out all the time. He wished...that he was back at home with his mother.

"Brother Yu, I want to go outside with you and Sister Ada." A little boy said with pleading eyes.

"You can't. Only us bigger kids are allowed to go." Yu replied as he tied the laces on his worn-out shoes. "When you get to be my age, you'll be the one taking care of the younger ones."

It was evening and Yu and Ada were getting ready to join the older women for supper. A soldier would be arriving soon to escort them. They waited by the door, expecting to hear the locks open at any moment. Ten minutes passed as they stood, waiting patiently for their sliver of freedom. Another ten minutes went by.

"The soldiers are usually never late. Do you think something happened?" Ada asked, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"It is strange that someone hasn't come for us yet…" Yu replied.

He glanced over at the children that were occupied at the moment. If we miss our meal tonight, we'll have to wait all the way until morning to eat. The younger ones might not be able to wait that long and I know Ada and I are just as hungry. The door is locked from the outside so, there's no way to open it. Maybe…

Yu motioned for Ada to follow him. He took her over to the more rotted side of the building. He stopped in front of the wooden door he had broken the knob off of on the first day he was imprisoned at the concentration camp.

"In this room, there is a hole in the wall that one of us might be able to crawl out of. The door is stuck though." Yu explained.

Ada leaned down to the hole where the handle had been and looked inside. Sure enough, there was a gap in the wall that looked big enough to crawl through. She looked up at Yu with eyes that seemed to say, "No matter what, we've got to make this work." Without having to say a word, they both placed their hands on the wooden door and began pushing with all their might. No matter how hard the two pushed, the door didn't budge.

"Maybe this door was made to be pulled open instead of pushed in, Ada." Yu said, as he wiped his sweat from his hands onto his pants.

"But how? You already broke the handle." Ada reminded.

Yu wedged his hand into the hole where the knob once was and started to pull. He winced at the pain of the broken, jagged wood scraping across the backside of his hand as he pulled.

"Here, grab me from behind." He instructed, disregarding his now bleeding hand.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and began pulling with all her strength. It hurt. Oh god it hurt. Yu watched as the wood dug into his skin and little streams of blood dripped down his hand. The sound of cracking wood drew his attention away from the pain for a brief moment before toppling over as the door swung open and the dust and musty odor escaped the closet-like-room. He got to his feet and helped Ada up before looking back towards the children. I hope we didn't cause too much of a racket. He turned back to the, now open and slightly broken, door and stepped inside. Yu began carefully moving the boxes and rotting wood out of the way so as to make a clear path for Ada. As he moved the box obscuring the hole in the wall, a gush of cold air ran up his pant legs, giving him goosebumps. This was it. This was their way out.

"Ada, I want you to go straight to the adults and gather the food for the little ones, Alright?"

"What are you saying? You're coming with me aren't you?" Ada asked, worry lacing her words.

Yu shook his head, "I finally have a chance to be outside without a soldier hovering over me. I need to take this chance to investigate the camp and find out why no one came to get us. Please Ada, I know you can do it without me. The children are relying on you."

He patted the older girl on the shoulder and waited until she nodded her head in agreement. He then crawled out of the small gap into the cold and dark night, before Ada did the same.

The night air was chilly and the wind kept finding its way into his shirt and up his pants, making him shiver. After he had parted ways with Ada, he decided to cover their escape route with a piece of wood from the closet. He propped one of the less rotten pieces up against the outside wall and began his reconnaissance. The first place he wanted to go was the men's sleeping quarters. He had never been able to get close to it when commuting to where the women ate their meals. He stuck close to the sides of the buildings and dashed to the next one as soon as the coast was clear of soldiers. He made it to the men's building but, of course, the door leading inside was locked. He sighed in disappointment. In a couple years, he would be placed here with the rest of the men and he really wanted a look inside before that time came. He sighed once more before resuming his search.

Yu then ran over to a building with windows. Actually, it was the only building with windows he had seen. They were small and covered in the dust but, it was worth sneaking a peek inside. Yu could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he stood on the tips of his toes to peer through the glass. He could only make out silhouettes moving around the room and a dull light coming from a light bulb. He knew that it was probably pointless to try to see if he could hear anything but, it would also be pointless not to. Yu leaned his ear close to the corner of the window and closed his eyes to focus. At first, all he could hear was muffled talking. He placed his hand over his other ear to better his concentration and began to pick out words from the muffled sounds. Find him...whatever is takes...that child. His eyes snapped open as he heard those words. Have they found out that I'm missing?! If so, there must be soldiers already searching for me! His pulse quickened and adrenaline ran through his body as he felt a hand cover his mouth and jerk his head away from the window.

Yu screamed into the hand cupping his mouth but, it was no use. The hand did not show any intention of letting go. It only encouraged the grip to become stronger. His torso was being hugged tightly to restrict movement and when he attempted to turn his head to look at his kidnapper, they would forcefully push his head the other way.

After a while of struggling, Yu became tired and let his body relax in the kidnapper's grasp. In return, the hand released his mouth and the arm loosened around his middle.

"I thought you'd never calm down. Now that you have…"

The kidnapper leaned his head over to look Yu in the face. What with all that strength from before, Yu was expecting to see a man...but to his surprise...it was a boy. A boy that looked about his age.

"Are you surprised? I may not look it but, I'm really strong for my age!" The mysterious boy said.

"No kidding." Yu tried freeing himself from the arm that still held him in place. "Could you let go now?"

"Only if you promise you won't run away."

"...I promise."

"Swear it? Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"Yes, I swear! Can you let go of me now!?"

The boy took his arm away and Yu rubbed his sore neck from being jerked every which way. He looked at the boy again. He was a little taller than Yu, much to his disappointment. His hair was blonde and his eyes were blue like the sky. He had seen blonde hair and blue eyes before but, never had he seen them like this. It was sort of...mesmerizing.

"Who are you?" Yu asked.

"I'd love to answer that question but, this isn't a good place to talk. Someone could find us." The blonde-haired boy grabbed Yu's hand as he spoke. "I'll show you a great place where no one will disturb us."

Both boys managed to slip around the camp undetected until they reached an old outhouse. The blonde boy took a small key out from inside his shirt pocket and opened the lock on the handle.

Once they both were inside, Yu immediately repeated his question. "Who are you?"

"Isn't it common courtesy to offer your own name first?"

Yu sighed with frustration. "My name is Yu. What's yours?"

"Yu-what?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have a last name, don't you?"

"...I'm just...Yu. Now, tell me yours already!"

"Then, I'm just Mikaela." He grinned at Yu's irritation.

"Mikaera, why haven't I seen you since before now? You're around ten years old, aren't you?"

"I am, but I don't know why my age has anything to do with knowing you. I'm always being holed up in one of the central buildings. That's probably why we've never seen one another."

Yu looked confused. "Well, that sure is weird. All the kids under twelve stay in a building together...while the women go off to do work. If you're always cooped up, why were you outside tonight?"

"Because I was tired of being by myself. I thought I might find someone to talk to if I left. And I did!"

Yu ceased talking and thought hard to himself. If he's ten, he should be with the other children. Why isn't he? Then, could it mean that he isn't a prisoner here? Does it also mean that he was the one the soldiers were sent to find?

"Hey." Yu pointed a finger towards Mikaela. "You're the one everyone is looking for right? It seems to me, that the reason the soldiers didn't come to escort me and my friend was because they were busy trying to find you!"

Mikaela shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about but, your hand is bleeding, you know."

Yu looked down at the hand pointing towards the other boy and just as he said, it was bleeding. He hadn't realized he still had an injury from using it as a handle. After acknowledging the wound, the pain became apparent as he held it close to his chest and applied pressure. Although it hurt, Yu hadn't the faintest urge to cry. A flesh wound wasn't nearly as painful as being mentally scarred from the sight of soldiers mercilessly slaughtering people. This was nothing in comparison.

"You know, you act a lot older than you actually are." The blonde said.

"Well, I have to. It's my job to be the big brother and take care of the littler ones. I doubt you'd understand that responsibility at this age, Mikaera." Yu said as he hissed at the stinging sensation of his hand.

"...Say my name again."

"Mikaera?"

"No no, you're saying it weird. It's Mikaela. Try it."

"M-mi..." Yu's cheeks flared as he turned his head away in embarrassment. "I can't! Stop making fun of me when you know I can't pronounce it!"

"I'm not making fun of you." Mikaela scratched the back of his head. "Why don't you call me Mika instead?"

"Mika?"

"Yeah! Isn't it cute~?"

Yu chuckled and shook his head. "I can manage that. Hey...it's getting really late. I have someone who's probably worried and wondering where I am. I need to go."

Yu checked to see if his hand was still bleeding before releasing the pressure. Seeing that his wound clotted, he started for the door when a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"We will see each other again, won't we?" Mikaela's voice sounding desprate. "It's fun talking with you..."

"Sigh. I might be able to sneak out again tomorrow. You think you can?"

"Yes! I'll find some way to make it work!"

"Alright. I'll see you then."

Mikaela smiled. "See you then!"

Yu waited until the coast was clear before darting out of the outhouse and disappearing into the night. Just when he thought he had gotten some answers, new questions flooded his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

The next night, Yu found himself sitting with his knees against his chest in the outhouse, waiting. He had been there since dusk, hoping and praying the soldiers patrolling wouldn't notice him hiding in the abandoned toilet. He held the small key he used to unlock the door up to eye level. Mika had quickly stuck it in Yu's pocket before he had left the last night. That kid, who sounded so desperate to meet again, sure was taking his time. He shoved the key into his pocket, buried his head in between his legs and thought back to last night.

Yu had run as fast as he could back to Ada and the others. He had been both scolded and praised for pulling off something so risky, but in the end, the children were fed and that was all that mattered. When the adults asked for the details of what happened that night, he deliberately left out meeting Mika. Honestly, he didn't trust anyone enough to tell them about it and what he'd been contemplating. Yu especially hadn't informed anyone about his secret rendezvous tonight. Yes, they were like family to him but, that was precisely why he hadn't told them. Letting them worry about him and putting them in danger was something he could never forgive himself for. And thus, he kept his distance with his true feelings and thoughts.

His head jerked up when he heard the creaking sound of the door open. A head full of blonde hair peeked in.

"I'm glad you're here! I didn't think you'd actually come!" Mika said as he shut the door behind him.

"Shhhh! Do you WANT someone to find us?"

Mika rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry."

Yu rolled his eyes. They both sat next to each other in silence for a while before Yu decided that he needed some answers, and he needed them now.

"Why are you here? In this camp, I mean."

"I was transferred here. The other camp I was staying at was attacked."

"Attacked? Attacked by who?"

"Who do you think? The organizations fighting against VAMPire." Mika huffed.

"VAMPire. As in VAMP Empire. I see." Yu hesitated on asking further about such a delicate subject. He knew Mika probably didn't want to delve into painful memories. He advanced with a softer tone. "I'm sorry you had to go through something like that. It must have been awful."

"It was." Mika looked down at the floor.

The blue-eyed boy sitting next to him wasn't the happy-go-lucky person he had thought him to be. He was just as down to earth and hurt as everyone else. Yu mentally slapped himself for thinking otherwise.

"Since it wasn't safe for me to stay there, they moved me to this camp. Where my father is." Mika continued. "How did you end up here?"

Yu was taken aback by the sudden shift in topic but, he thought it was only fair to share his piece as well.

"My mother was killed in a VAMPire raid. The few that they didn't kill in my hometown were sent here." Yu could feel the air get heavy as those words left his lips. They had both been through some rough and emotionally challenging things. He really hated himself for looking down on Mika when they first met.

"You must really despise and curse them for doing those horrible things to you."

Yu was caught off guard by the slightly morbid statement. "Well, of course I won't forgive them but, saying it like that is a little..."

A little? A little what? Disturbing? That's what the mood in the air started feeling like anyways. Yu glanced over at Mika only to see his face painted in sorrow and grief. He pushed his overwhelming urge to cry down as far as he could and placed a hand on Mikaela's shoulder. It wasn't much but, he thought a little comfort would help ease the pain.

"Yu, do you like me?" Asked the blonde.

"Yeah. I do. Even though we just met yesterday, I feel like we really understand one another."

Mika smiled a little. "I think so too."

With the weird tension starting to fade, Yu felt like asking anymore questions would just ruin the moment. "Hey, it's about time I headed back." He stretched his arms, indicating that they had been there for quite a while.

"Sigh. I really wish you didn't have to leave." Mika said with little more bounce in his voice than before.

Yu giggled. "You sound like some of the kids whenever I leave to get food." He stood up. "We'll see each other again. I promise."

Mikaela got to his feet as well. "A true man never goes back on his word. I promise to see you again too."

And with that, the two boys went their separate ways. They both knew that this friendship between them was special and that it needed to be protected, no matter what.


End file.
